Gratitude Friday: Sunny Saturdays

January 11, 2013 by lauren

Last weekend, we actually split up to experience some of our bucket list items remaining.

Gabe skied with Finnish friend A at Les Contamines, France for the day. With my feet still not up to par for skiing, I opted for a scenic train to Rochers-de-Naye.

The guys enjoyed the day at Les Contamines, with sunny skies and great slopes.

Views at Les Contamines

I also enjoyed my day on the train at at Rochers-de-Naye. One of the things that I love about living here is how much people take advantage of beautiful days. I talked about this mentality in my “Profiter” post, but here are just a few examples of what I saw at the main station on the way out to my day trip:

Skiers and hikers of all ages, ready to board the train

The reason I selected Rochers-de-Naye is because of its 2000m position at the far end of Lake Geneva. I heard the views were magnificent and you could see almost the entire lake from the summit. Having confirmed sunny skies, I set off on the two hour journey.

I quickly learned that sunny skies at Rochers-de-Naye and sunny skies over Lake Geneva were two different things:

Evidence of the permacloud. Lake Geneva is below the layer.

Nonetheless, I thought the ambience was pretty neat with the mysterious cover. Despite my ill preparations of not wearing snow shoes (oops), I had fun seeing the mountains.

Gorgeous views @ Rochers-de-Naye

I didn’t happen to notice anything peculiar about the above scene. However, when I was showing my French teacher, she commented….”ah, Mount Cervin”. If you look at the pointed mountain in the distance of the photo, that is the infamous Matterhorn. Wish the view was this clear when we were in Zermatt!

Also of note, the summit hosts 7 Mongolian yourts, which each sleep 8 people. The ski slopes are only steps from the little huts, so you can easily ski from your doorstep in the winter, or hike in the summer.

Yourt with blue door

Yourt with red door

After about 2 hours, I got a little break in the clouds to envision what the view would look like on a clear day.

The blue of Lake Geneva starting to show

We are both grateful for the beautiful weekend to experience some of our final must-do’s!

The Adventures of Miss Widget and Her People: A New Year, Another Mountain, And A Gnome

Schwingen in Switzerland: It Wasn’t Premeditated, Our Hike Up Rochers-de-Naye

The Swiss Watch Blog: Gratitude Friday – Ski School

Skiing Portes du Soleil

December 30, 2012 by lauren

While I didn’t ski, didn’t want to deprive our readers of the skiing experience in Portes du Soleil, so I have ~~harassed~~ asked our fellow holiday-goers to help add some flavor with their photos & stories.

Our Hotel Tremplin provided two lifts with direct access to Morzine / Les Gets. These two villages are a part of an overall area is called Portes du Soleil which includes 12 resorts with 8 in France and 4 in Switzerland. There are over 209 lifts in Portes du Soleil, allowing complete exploration of this region of 650km of slopes.

Image courtesy of avorinet.com

Having a central hotel was nice so everyone could break and re-group. Plus, it was nice for them not to have to walk far to hop on a lift or rent/return skis.

Ready to go after a lunch break at Le Tremplin

First day….ready to go again after a lunch break at Le Tremplin

There was a hotel above ours, at the top of the Pleney lift. I sat there on the terrace one day soaking in the sun, as the lift didn’t require you to be a skier to take it because of the hotel guests also needing access.

The positive to this hotel is that you could really ski directly into it. However, the cable car stopped at a certain time which would limit your Morzine nightlife access.

The views at the top of Pleney, the furthest I could go on foot

The views at the top of Pleney, the furthest I could go on cable car + foot without being a skier

The area at Pleney was also where the ski school was headquartered. Out of the five skiers in our group, four ended up taking lessons of differing levels to improve their skills. This is a really good practice for skiers of all levels, to brush up and learn more. By taking them early in the vacation, they could apply the learning.

Morzine offers lessons in English, either private or shared. Everyone found them helpful, indicating about 2-3 things that they learned that really helped their technique the rest of the week.

Meeting Gabe for lunch at Pleney before his lesson

The group preferred exploring the top of the mountain, where they said it was less crowded and the views were magnificent. Later in the week when there was rain in the village, it became more and more important to ski the top where the altitude resulted in snow vs. rain.

Slopes at Morzine, captured by Gabe

Riding the lift, captured by J

Gorgeous snow image by B

J, conquering the mountain

M gazing out onto the slopes. Image courtesy of B

Gabe, M & B, ready to descend from the top. Image courtesy of J.

Time for a beer! Image taken by M.

IMAGE_226CD6A4-EC5D-463E-B8E4-C2A892B45273

B enjoying his beer, taken by M

Each day the group came back exhausted but happy. They were very content with the ski area and had a wonderful time.

Gratitude Friday: Christmas in the French Alps

December 28, 2012 by lauren

We spent Christmas in Morzine, France, just a short hour’s drive from Geneva. We were fortunate that some of Gabe’s colleagues and partners/spouses were also interested in spending a joyeux Noël skiing, so worked together to select a place and it ended up being the French Alps.

The village of Morzine, France

We couldn’t find a chalet for the group on short notice, but the hotel, Le Tremplin, ended up being a fabulous location:

Hotel Tremplin

The slopes literally run into the hotel, making it really convenient for the skiers

The slopes literally run into the hotel, with two different lifts, making it really convenient for the skiers

Image & vantage point courtesy of B

The hotel also had several restaurants attached and a cool patio. While service wasn’t hot (they were still ironing out some beginning-of-the-season kinks), the heaters at least were.

The guys with their beer

The ladies with our wine

Le Tremplin’s patio was nice for après ski action, with a band and a lively crowd

Our room had a village view so it was neat to wake up to the sun rising and setting on the town:

Morzine in the morning

Morzine at night

The skiers had a good time, enjoying a nice variety of slopes accessible from the town. While I wasn’t skiing due to an injury, I still was able to get access on foot to witness some of the beauty.

At the top of the Pleney telecabin lift, I saw some nice panorama

Gabe and friends skiing. Photo courtesy of J.

One of the members of our group even organized a gift exchange so all shared in that on Christmas Eve night. It was fun to open something!

Having fun at the gift exchange

We had phenomenal food, in the Haute Savoie style. We enjoyed the hearty meals, although I wish I could have been skiing to burn them off!!

Rack of whisky meat from L’Etale

Grilling food at L’Etale, an traditional alpine meal

We also had a nice traditional meal for Christmas Eve at a local restaurant, La Grange. It was nice to have the treat of turkey which is uncommon here.

Thanksgiving dinner, image courtesy of B.

Our French turkey dinner

The cheese plate that came between dessert and dinner

While we missed being with our family this Christmas, we are grateful for all God’s blessings, especially this special experience of seeing this beautiful area of the world.

Colmar’s Marchés de Noël

December 24, 2012 by lauren

Colmar is a picturesque town in the Alsace region of France known for its lovely Marchés de Noël, or Christmas markets. I have wanted to check out the town for quite some time, regardless of the season, but it never worked out. Now with a departure date ticking down, I knew this Christmas would be my last chance. I’d set up two potential dates to go. The first one called for rain/snow and temperatures of 33. It wasn’t very appealing to have a temperature hanging at the freezing mark but not committing to freezing ( and thus snow which is better than rain), so Plan B became the fall-back.

I awoke last Thursday (Plan B) to another forecast of rain and 33 degree temps. But a little freezing rain wasn’t going to stop me this time, especially with it being the last chance! I took off, connecting in 3 towns, for a trip of about 3 hrs & 45 minutes through Northern Switzerland and into Eastern France.

I had about five minutes of no rain where I captured a few photos.

Then, the rain showers came…and continued. It even started snewing, which is my word for the wet thick fat snow / rain combo. While I love snowing, I don’t love snewing. It doesn’t stick, but just makes everything wet. It was interesting to balance the umbrella and take photos!

I ended up staying a few hours to visit all five of the markets in Colmar, and coming home very soggy. However, I am happy to have gotten my fill of Alsace Christmas beauty, as evidenced in these snapshots.

If you are ever in Alsace, I have heard from friends that the wine road is really cool. My PT recommended biking it in the summer. S & S loved exploring it as well as some of the other quaint Alsace towns. While I didn’t have it in me this trip, I’ll provide a few related posts to this area below:

Living in Geneva: Deck the Halls

Schwingen in Switzerland: Too Much Can Get You Alsauced, Alsace’s Wine Route (Route du Vin)

Schwingen in Switzerland: Colorful Colmar

Schwingen in Switzerland: Euguisheim, The Cutest Town In The World?

Schwingen in Switzerland: The Malgre Nous, Forced To Fight Against Their Country of Birth During WWII.

Lyon’s Fête des Lumières

December 17, 2012 by lauren

We recently attended the annual Fête des Luminères, or Festival of Lights, which honors Mother Mary every year on the eighth day of December. Four million people attend each year!

This festival originates back to 1643, when Lyon was hit by the plague. The townspeople said that if Lyon would be spared, they’d pay tribute to Mary. The tradition of honoring Mary happens every year since on December 8.

It was beautiful – they had over 65 light installations, ranging from light shows projected onto the old buildings, to independent light sculptures, to a moving parade. The video at the end of the post does it more justice than the photographs. Due to the crowds, it wasn’t possible to use a tripod.

And here is the video – it is long – but shows the variety and technical genius of those behind this event:

It’s pretty grand…..Torino

December 4, 2012 by lauren

Torino was our “bonus” stop on the way back from the trip to the Piedmont a few weeks ago. Torino, or Turin in English, is actually in the heart of the Piedmont region of Italy.

Our pre-reading in the car taught us that Torino was the capital for the Dukes of Savoy, so it owes its French architecture and grand squares to this portion of its history. However, the books referenced modern-day Torino as industrial and in need of revitalization. With that gleaming recommendation, we decided to do a ‘drive by’ and see how it was before committing to parking.

First impressions driving into Torino

Our books told us public transportation was excellent in Torino, and we saw lots of evidence of it driving in

We were intrigued, so decided to park. After we found a spot, we noticed lots of runners. As it turned out, the Torino Marathon was that day.

Joining hands at the finish.

Marathon set up against the beautiful architecture

We walked around a bit, taking in the lovely streets and squares as well as the liveliness that the marathon was creating with large crowds and loud music.

Palazzo Madama, now an art museum

Covered walkways along Via Roma

Piazza San Carlo and the twin churches, with remnants of the marathon on the piazza.

Palazza Real, a Savoy residence. Another UNESCO site. Woot woot.

The Duomo, where the Shroud of Turin is kept. This has recently been challenged with the advent of carbon dating. Our friends told us that now the challenge is challenged. Who knows.

Inside of the Duomo where the Shroud of Turin rests.

Ruins of the Roman Theatre

Porta Palatina, Roman structure from 1st Century AD

Farewell glance at Torino’s symbol, Mole Antonelliana, as we departed

Our summary – if you are near Torino (within an hour), make it a stop – it has a lot to offer in terms of history and architecture. Otherwise, probably not an Italy destination.

Two Fools at the International Truffle Fair

December 2, 2012 by lauren

The idea to go to Piedmont actually got hatched on our way back from Cinque Terre. I was reading our guidebook to learn more about Italy and came across the “Festivals and Events” page. I mentioned to Gabe that the Alba International White Truffle Festival was listed as mid-November. Since the Piedmont is only a 3 to 3 1/2 hour drive from our flat in Geneva, we decided that we’d check into it. And, as it turned out, the last weekend of the fair was our only free weekend in November. Perfect. Booked. Why not?

Let’s back up and say while we like truffled foods, we are not connoisseurs. We have some friends from Singapore who we’d call connoisseurs of truffles, but not us. I can probably safely say the amount of truffled dishes I have had in my life have been less than five. The only time I’d ever seen a truffle was at our anniversary dinner at Le Sesflo in Geneva where they shaved it into my risotto. The rest of the time, it has been truffle-infused or with truffle oil. I can probably say the same for my husband.

Planning the trip to Piedmont, I looked into trying to go on a truffle hunt, with an actual dog (Italy banned the use of truffle hunting pigs a few years ago due to the animals damaging the special truffle producing turf). After researching, I soon found this excursion wasn’t in our budget. Far from it. Like obscene. And you don’t even get to keep the truffle.

Since we can’t afford a truffle hunt, this image is courtesy of theguardian.co.uk

We decided that attending the Alba International White Truffle Fair would be enough of an experience.

Streets of Alba at the entrance to the Truffle Fair

Not knowing anything, we were a bit overwhelmed. There were truffles everywhere. The farmers were proudly standing with their selection, most in glass cases.

Line up of truffle hunters

White truffle display. Yes, the big one is 252 euros. A today’s exchange rate, this is 325 dollars. Takers?

I liked this guy. He kept polishing his truffles on display. We bought some truffled dry pasta and truffle oil from them to savor at a later date.

This is as close as we got to a truffle dog

As we were intimidated, we wondered around looking at other foods of the Piedmont, continuing to take it all in. The vendors were very kind offering samples but my Italian is very weak so I felt bad at not being able to communicate. Just a polite nod and smile.

I’ll point out that this wasn’t a very touristy event. We didn’t see a single other person who was a) there for fun or b) speaking English. They were all there to buy.

Cheeses……

Mushrooms….

In the end, we actually ended up buying a little white truffle. It was a splurge but we are pretty sure we won’t be going back to the White Truffle Fair any other time in our lives.

This is how much truffle we can afford.

We sliced it up so that we could put in on buttered gnocchi pasta.

The Piedmont: Italy’s Best Region for Food & Wine

November 27, 2012 by lauren

I first discovered Piedmont wines through a restaurant in Charlotte called Vivace. Always an early bird, I would sit at the bar to wait for the friends I was meeting. One time, the bartender recommended a Barbera wine from Italy called Fontanafredda – Briccotondo. I enjoyed it and let him know that he’d made a great selection. He tipped me in on a secret….the local Charlotte gem Common Market was the only place to stock it in town and the bottle sold for as much as what a glass in the restaurant ran.

My first taste of Piedmont

I picked up a few bottles and it became a favorite.

Fast-forward a few years and we are in Geneva. We attended an expat fair which was very boring but what made the visit worthwhile was a food & wine booth run by a Swiss man and his wife. They were selling Piedmont products and couldn’t have been more passionate. They said after a visit, they’d fallen in love with the area and bought a house. They then started a business selling Piedmont products in Switzerland.

Image courtesy of e-rcps

They graciously offered us tastes of all their foods and wine. We expressed interest, but our regret that we had not enough francs to buy wine. The gentleman assured us he’d ship us a case and invoice us later. Still new to Switzerland, we were baffled that someone would ship us wine before we paid for it. We were a little skeptical but gave our address.

And, one week later, our wine showed up. We loved it. As time passed, we’ve learned even more about the products from the Piedmont region. It is in my opinion, Italy’s overall best region for food and wine. Here is a run-down of what Piedmont is known for:

The Slow Food Movement. The Piedmont is the birthplace of this movement, which was started to counteract the fast food movement. Basically, the theory is that food sourced locally and prepared mindfully is better for the body & spirit. It’s thinking about how the choices you make in food affects the world.

Street vendor selling locally made items

Truffles. Truffles are basically very rare mushrooms. I love dishes with truffle flavorings….they are aromatic and add a special flavor to dishes. While there are many parts of Europe that produce black truffles, the Piedmont is known for its white truffle. Due to their rarity, they are very valuable. In fact, the world’s most expensive truffle ever sold for $330,000.

A line-up of truffles for sale at the International Truffle Festival in Alba

Risotto. Made with a special short grain rice, Italian risottos are cooked until creamy. I like making mushroom risotto as well as green garden risotto. The best risotto I ever had was truffle risotto at Les Sesflo in Geneva.

I bought three types of Piedmont rice from this guy at the Alba farmers market.

We happened upon a risotto exposition and decided to get our lunch there. I wasn’t able to express the kind I wanted in Italian, so they gave us ‘risotto spumante’. It is risotto with Asti champagne.

Don’t eat so much, Gabe! You have to drive!

Hazelnuts. The Piedmont is a prime hazelnut producing area. In fact, Nutella was invented in Piedmont!

Passing the factory where Nutella was made.

Passing Italian hazelnut fields

The company who produces Nutella, Ferrero, also produces Ferrero Rocher, the yummy hazelnut truffle candies. However, we did learn that modern day Nutella production uses Brazilian hazelnuts because they are cheaper.

All of these things are made in Piedmont, Italy

A very interested customer. Doesn’t everyone need a jar of Nutella the size of your head?

If you are into local types, artisanal hazelnut creme (nocciola) is sold in droves.

I decided that I needed to research these artisanal types….you know, for the benefit of the blog.

Hazelnuts are also made into delicious cakes and flours.

An offering of hazelnuts at the Alba farmers market

The hazelnut cake lady at the Truffle Festival

Wine. Piedmont produces a few types of notorious red wines: Barolo, Barbaraesco, and Barbera. As I mentioned, the Barbera was my gateway wine. The Barolo is most often named as Italy’s best wine. Also, Asti is famous for its sparkling white wine. As it is sweet, and it isn’t our preference, we didn’t stop in Asti this trip.

A few late bloomers….Barolo vineyards after harvest

What’s not to love in Piedmont??

Desalpe Festival

October 17, 2012 by lauren

Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I realize that we live in Switzerland. We love getting to experience a completely new way of life and new customs. This past weekend was no exception, when we attended the Semsales Desalpe Festival.

What is a Desalpe you might ask? In Switzerland, the cows happily live in the Alps in the summer, munching away on the greenest of grassy pastures. However, the cold snowy temperatures that come in the winter are even too harsh for Swiss cattle. So every Fall, the happy Swiss cows come down from their summer home in the high Alps to their lower grassy pastures and barns.

Most small villages celebrate their return home with a Desalpe Festival, literally translated, “from the Alps”.

We attended the festival in the town of Semsales, in the canton of Fribourg, near Gruyeres. This festival is special because of its spacing. Typically, all the herds are condensed in one parade. However, in Semsales, each group gets the individual spotlight. From 10:00 in the morning until 18:00 in the evening, a total of 14 families march through town proudly, welcoming their herd home for the winter.

We got quite an awakening to the procession when parking our car. Literally, one of the herds came into us!

Well, hello there.

Walking into town, we got to see quite a few more processions. The first few cows wear very tall ornamentation. Sort of like Christmas trees on their heads:

Nope – not Christmas in October. Just the Desalpe festival!

Then comes the more subdued cows….smaller floral arrangements.

This lady has a classier look going on. But what she looses in floral prowess, she makes up in cowbell size. Holy cow.

Moo-ve over and get out of my way, lady.

Just an everyday walk on the highway

In addition to the cows, groups of musicians were also a special part of the Desalpe. We enjoyed the cowbell group:

The cowbell band

Handling their bells. The muscles on these folks have to be strong!

We really enjoyed the Alphorn band

They also have delicious cheese and meat based foods.

This was a super big pot of cheesy potatoes

Local meat, cheeses, and breads for lunch. Plus some nice red wine from the nearby vineyards.

If you are attending a Desalpe, just make sure to wear old shoes or maybe even some wellies. You are most certainly going to step in something nasty.

Hey lady, maybe you want to keep your baby out of the cow poo

I thought this was my best picture of the day until I realized what was happening.

For a more interesting visual, check out the video footage from our day at the Desalpe:

Postcards from the Swiss Riviera

October 16, 2012 by lauren

Switzerland, being landlocked, actually has no ocean. However, the shores of Lake Geneva near Montreux and Vevey are named “The Swiss Riviera” because of it’s picturesque and prestigious location on the lake, in view of both the Swiss & French Alps. When Heidi & Olga were visiting Geneva, we took a day trip to this special region of Switzerland.

This area is located about an hour train or car ride from Geneva. The ride provides amazing views of the coastline of Lake Geneva.

Typical view in the Swiss Riviera

Upon arriving in Montreux, we walked through the Montreux Marché, or Friday market. I had actually never been to Montreux for a Friday market, and found it delightful. It included vendors selling everything from handmade sweaters, to Provençal soaps, to secondhand goods. They also had quite a variety of delicious street food.

We strolled along the Quai des Fleurs (walkway of flowers) towards Villeneuve. One of the most special things about Montreux is that it has somewhat of a tropical ambience to it, provided by its plants and landscaping.

They have a few nice hotels in Montreux

Beautiful flowers against the French Alps. Seems like Summer, not Autumn!

A sweet hibiscus overlooks Lake Geneva

After a half hour’s stroll, we reached Chateau Chillon. The castle dominates the coastline and was a major defensive structure up until modern times. We didn’t go inside, but instead enjoyed the different perspectives we could see on the nature trails surrounding the chateau.

Chateau Chillon in autumn.

The legendary castle

The modern speedboats were a funny juxtaposition against the medieval castle

After walking back to Montreux and partaking of some of the market food, we then decided to visit to the Lavaux region. I have heard numerous rave reviews about Le Deck, a beautiful bar/restaurant that overlooks the UNESCO designated Lavaux vineyards. Heidi & Olga were game for checking it out, so we took a small regional train to Chexbres, the small town where Le Deck is located. Note that it is possible to get there on the train, if you pay a 1.80 CHF supplement on your Geneva-Montreux train ticket. And you can return straight to Geneva via Lausanne.

The town of Chexbres is a quintessential Swiss wine town. Gabe & I have driven guests through it, descending off the A1 at the Chexbres exit and weaving down the wine roads to Rivaz. There are almost as many wine cellars as citizens, with dozens of these little operations dotting the small village. We have always enjoyed the drive; however, there is a certain magic about walking around in the town that Heidi, Olga & I discovered. This was especially true during the timing of our visit, as it was the height of the grape harvest. The locals were busy, soaking in the sunshine, and tasting the year’s dividends.

The village of Chexbres

It was very tempting to stay and drink our way through the town, but we continued on walking towards the outside of town and our destination: Le Deck. Our friends were right – this is certainly a special place. Cushy chairs and linen canopies provide an oasis above the Lavaux vineyards. You can purchase wine by the glass and enjoy the view, savoring the fruits of the labor of the vineyard workers, who just happened to be harvesting underneath our feet.

The Lavaux vineyards

Olga, enjoying a glass of Lavaux rosé

Au Revoir, Swiss Riviera. Thanks for a remarkable day!

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